Buckeyes still in the thick of title chase

Tuesday

Oct 29, 2013 at 12:44 PM

Ohio State is right where it wants to be once the calendar flips to November.

Todd Porter CantonRep.com Special Projects Editor @toddporter

In the huddle — usually late in a game, some times early — Ohio State players have a phrase for what's happening on the field. The Buckeyes, winners of 20 straight games and coming off their most impressive victory of the season, can see it in the eyes of their opponents.

They're ready for the beating to subside.

"We like to call that 'no mas,'" running back Carlos Hyde said. "It's pretty easy to tell when guys don't want any more."

The fourth-ranked Buckeyes head to Purdue Saturday. It is a game that is a mismatch on paper. Though, three of the last four times Ohio State went to West Lafayette, the Buckeyes have left with a stunning loss.

But this is the month when championship runs are made. At the start of the season, head coach Urban Meyer dismissed national championship talk and mentioned November.

It is when potential champions start to come into view.

"We don't go into the season saying we want to win this one and this one," Meyer said. "If you look around, there's not a bunch of goals. Win the national championship. We don't put that down. There's too many variables involved.

"It's always the same: To compete for championships in November. To get to November and then let's go try to find a way to win a championship. We're going to be in November. We are competing for championships, so you can bet the focus is going to be very intense."

For the Buckeyes to get to the BCS title game, they will need help. Alabama, Oregon and Florida State are all ranked in front of Ohio State. The Buckeyes need two of the three to lose, which could happen. Oregon has the toughest schedule of those three remaining, followed by Alabama and Florida State.

Ohio State has unranked Purdue, Illinois, Indiana and No. 21 Michigan left before the Big Ten championship game.

Ohio State seems to be taking Purdue seriously. Plenty of players have either been a part of a loss at Purdue, or watched the Buckeyes lose there before coming to college. Having won 20 straight games, you wonder if they remember what it feels like to lose.

"That 'L' word is not good for anyone," Meyer said. "We coach very hard. Lou Holtz said it best. You coach hard when you win. ... Come out to practice and it's like, my gosh, you act like the offense is the worst in the country. Especially on Tuesday. It's Bloody Tuesday around here for a reason. As long as we're still coaching that way, they're very hungry."

Meyer was asked if he remembers what it's like to lose.

"Yeah, I try to avoid it at all costs," he said.

Right now that would seem to be an easy thing to do. Ohio State is coming off a 63-14 win against Penn State. The Buckeyes don't have a clear path to the national championship game, but they're in the mix.

With quarterback Braxton Miller completing 70 percent of his passes and improving every week, and running back Carlos Hyde running through and past defenders, there isn't much the offense can't do well.

To think just two seasons ago it looked like OSU was a long ways off from this kind of season.

Meyer came in and turned around the culture. He took a my-way-or-the-highway approach with players. He ran some off. He hoped others would leave or change.

They changed.

"Early in the season our first year I was alarmed," Meyer said. "We weren't playing very hard. We weren't playing very smart. I had a brand new coaching staff I was concerned about. All those concerns seem to be working themselves out.

"Up until now, we're just trying to find a way to get to the next week. We're just trying to get a win on the road at Purdue."

First, though, is Bloody Tuesday today. It's the weekly process that Meyer and the coaching staff use by tearing them down, and building them back up.